Conventionally Yours (True Colors #1)

Though I\’m a HUGE Annabeth fan (read ALL of her books) this one just wasn\’t for me. Somehow the plot and the characters simply didn\’t \”grab\” me. I felt like the road tripping itself (shifting drivers and getting lost) and the card game (including too many actual games) made this, well, boring.. I used to be into RPG (Role Playing Games) back in the day so I COULD relate and yet I totally couldn\’t because I don\’t know this game (or interested in it). Conrad Stewart seems like he has it all but it\’s all a front to a lonely life. He used to have a loving family, a promising start in college and a very active social life. What\’s left? Working in as many jobs as he can and playing \”Odyssey \”. After coming out his family basically thrown him into the wolves leaving him with no way of paying college (so he dropped out) and barely a way to make things end enough for him to even feed himself. Two weeks on the road to get into an \”Odyssey\” convention seems like a waste of time and money but if he wins the big price he might FINALLY have means to support himself (while doing something he loves). Alden Roth looks to have won the jackpot of a family. Two extremely loving moms (and two older sisters) with a planned future as a doctor. But he hides how much his family\’s expectations is weighing on him. He hasn\’t been able to get into any program and after two years trying he doesn\’t feel like going through it again for a third. His moms are pushing him to make decisions concerning his future and all he feels like doing is hiding and playing \”Odyssey\” – one of the few if not only thing he feels he is good at. Though he has a group who plays \”together\” he struggles socially. The guys don\’t really like him – especially not Conrad but the convention might be his way out. Winning big can change his future! Though it might not be the kind his family \”approves\” of, at least they are happy he is going with friends.. (though they don\’t know they aren\’t really). Both guys has MANY assumptions on one another and being together on the road (just the two of them) allowed them to get to know each other and see they actually have quite a lot in common. They feel stuck with no-where to go for totally different reasons. Both putting up a front to be able to \”play the game\” – the Odyssey as well as the game of life. They don\’t have it all together, they don\’t know how to build their future and what it would look like and they are both extremely lonely even when there are people around them. I would have loved seeing how they attempt to figure things out together and the impact their opposite personalities each has on one another but the story dragged and I was just not into it anymore. It was in a way quite repetitive – driving while arguing about food/taking the wrong turn and general \”rules\” Alden has that Conrad couldn\’t care less about (like not eating in the car) and gaming in the shops around their route. They DID start to open up, their conversations on the road WAS the relationship buildup but the \”surrounding plot\”, for me, left the story feeling flat. There is one thing I want to mention and I don\’t know how to write exactly certainly because it\’s my personal opinion and I don\’t know if anyone else would see it this way… Conrad was annoyed with Alden A LOT. Actually I was annoyed as well but not for the same reasons.. See, Alden is said to have \”neurological problems\” but seeing the way he behave he feel quite clearly (to me) on the Autistic Spectrum though high functioning, something like Asperger (not sure it\’s labeled this way currently). For anyone NOT knowing how much of a problem he has with certain issues (like how strict he is in routines and adjusting to situations he hasn\’t predicted) he might feel EXTREMELY annoying and at times self centered. He is NOT. He is having the struggle of his life dealing with this journey. Yeah he willingly went but it doesn\’t mean it\’s not hard! But since Conrad wasn\’t truly aware he has this problem (he just saw him as being \”stuck up\”) I was frustrated as well with the whole thing. I truly think that if he would have KNOWN, the whole feel of the story would have been different (for him but for me as well). I understand that the fact they are \”rivals\” on and off the game is the whole point of this book but this issues still rubbed me the wrong way. I stopped reading at 36% where both are still on the road to the convention. There is much still to happen but I felt like it\’s becoming too much of a struggle. There is a lot I haven\’t said about this book (especially about the group they are playing in and who their journey together came to be) but I don\’t think it\’s the main issue so I decided to leave it out. Sorry Annabeth I\’ll catch up on your next book (I already have pre-ordered). More @ Ultra Meital Reviews.

Things I really enjoyed about this book: – the way the enemies to lovers progression occurred; – that it was actually enemies to friends to lovers; – the incredibly clever game universe created for this story; – that a character\’s neurodiversity wasn\’t glossed over or glorified; – the pacing of the story; – I genuinely liked the MCs and the dual narration really helped me understand Alden and Conrad so much better; and, – all the secondary characters were interesting and not just copy paste facsimiles of secondary characters I\’ll be really interested in hearing the narration of this book as I feel between Kirt Grave and Joel Leslie Froomkin they\’ll add additional layers of nuance to these characters and this story. I\’ll be looking out for the next books in this series. A solid 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me.

While I may have SOME biases when it comes to Conventionally Yours, I can honestly say that the book is a delight. Conrad and Alden are multifaceted and intensely likable. Their romance has an aching, tender sort of yearning to it–combined with the high-stakes nature of their road trip to the Odyssey card game convention/tournament and the conflict that arises when both of them not only want, but for their own reasons, NEED, to win. I could echo a great deal of what other people have said about this book: that Conrad and Alden are delightful, that the research and the road trip/locations is pleasingly evident and true to life, that the con and road trip experience is one that is clearly lived and loved, that issues like neurodiversity, homophobia, and class differences are addressed (but not slogged through) with a deft hand. So I will! I will say all those things. But I’d also like to elaborate on a few things I have not seen as many reviewers touch on. Other reviewers have mentioned technical aspects of card games and gaming that are featured throughout, either to say that those areas of the story rang true to them or seemed to slog a little. It’s not a topic that’s for everyone—I personally tried Magic the Gathering myself once and I found myself overwhelmed and, honestly, kinda bored. But while I myself have never been particularly into card games, the portrayal of the fictional game, Odyssey, and the fan culture surrounding it rings true to me as a participant in other areas of fan culture. Am I into cards and card games? No, not really. But I like other things! I have that enthusiasm for other areas of fandom. I recognize its base cause: that genuine love and investment in something, even if I myself don’t share it in that same outlet. The opposite is one I’ve seen too many times—tryhard, wink-wink nudge-nudge, often self-effacing and near-apologetic portrayals of geek culture in fiction is something that I’m hyper-aware of when it comes to works that market itself as appealing to those spaces/audiences. In my opinion, they often miss the mark. They can feel either awkward (\”How do you do, fellow kids? Video games, am I right?\”), or transparently pandering (\”Now we will reference Cool Modern Thing/Cool Retro Thing that the reader will recognize for cheap fan brownie points\”). I’m delighted to say that’s not the case here. And when it comes to the convention itself, it felt like conventions I’ve been to over the years. There are occasional eccentrics and outright jerks, but most of the time, it’s just a gathering of a bunch of people who love the same thing and want to share that love with others. Another point I want to elaborate on: secondary characters are well-rounded and likable—and if not likable, at least believable and resonant. One of the secondary characters that stands out to me most vividly is Payton. Payton has flaws: Payton is blunt, an unrepentant partygoer, a gossip, often blasé. Payton is also nonbinary. Not only is it a delight seeing an unapologetic or didactic portrayal of a nonbinary person in fiction (There is no hand-holding aside about Payton\’s identity or pronouns; they simply are presented without comment and the writing trusts you to either accept it or Google what you don\’t understand), but it is a delight to see a nonbinary character that is their own person and not an idealized token. In cases of representation, sometimes it seems like characters in underrepresented or marginalized identities are \”too perfect\” or \”pure\” in an effort to portray them in a positive light—in ways that ultimately end up further othering them or putting them on unnecessary pedestals. Payton is a PERSON, first and foremost. They are not perfect. They are human. And that means a great deal to me as a nonbinary reader. For anyone looking for a lighthearted-but-not-shallow, occasionally-niche-but-not-alienating, sweet and sometimes-sexy romance in the New Adult/Romcom genre, I would definitely recommend Conventionally Yours.

Technically new adult, but felt like young adult. We had two mid-twenties protagonists but it really didn\’t feel like it. Also: the romance was just \”meh\”: \”we totally hate each other… hey he\’s kind of cute… let\’s be super-nice to each other while angsting.\” It\’s a shame, because the opening scene (where the protagonist was narrating the game he was playing but as if he was actually living it) had real promise. I listened to the audiobook and it really depended on the actors providing depth to the text. Had I read it, I think I would have abandoned it. I realise that I\’m talking myself down from a three star \”okay\” review!

Conventionally Yours was really quite sweet. The 2 main characters Alden & Conrad are both guilty of assuming they know the other and making judgements on those assumptions, when they really don\’t know each other at all. Conrad appears more confident of the 2 but really he is hiding his troubles and worrying about where his future is headed. Spending time together as they travel to a Convention to compete in a gaming tournament is really quite the eye opener for them both, and their attraction to each other grows quickly. Alden is so endearing, he really grew on me across the storyline as his personality starts to shine more. He is an over thinker and gets anxious very easily, but he was so sweet and supportive of Conrad. Couldn\’t resist upgrading to the audio once I saw the narrators – I enjoyed the performance of both narrators, Kirt Graves and Joel Froomkin made for a very easy listen.

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